Hayze, Silver, Kevin, Justus, Aaron, Wes, Ash, Saige, Blair, Alexis, Zach, Tyson, Daniele, Yul, and Lust enter the mess hall in Big Tank’s agency. All of the tables have been cleared out for extra space. Aster, Exciton, Impact, Black Hollow, and Vulcan are all standing in the room alongside 6 miscellaneous heroes.
Kevin: *whispering* I thought this mission was understaffed. Who are the other heroes?
Tyson: *whispering* They’re a bunch of low-level C-Rank heroes that signed on for this job for a chance to boost their popularity.
Yul: *whispering* They probably aren’t much stronger than all of you.
Tyson: *whispering* If at all.
A C-Rank hero with half-cut logs strapped to his arms, legs, torso, and head scoffs at the students.
Timber Man: When Big Tank said there would be U.A. students coming along for the ride, I didn’t think he meant THIS many.
Fishface: Yeah, I feel like I’m back in school right now.
Vulcan: Shut up, you two.
Timber Man and Fishface cower in fear.
Vulcan: I’m more confident in those students than I am in you.
Timber Man: Wh- Are you kidding me?! Do you know who I am?!
Vulcan: No.
Awkward silence.
Timber Man: Well, I’m Timber Man! I have the power of the trees!
Fishface: Chopped down trees, that is.
Timber Man: Shut up, Fishface! Your quirk only gives you a fish face!
Fishface: Yeah, and I bite really hard!
Another C-Rank hero gets between them. He’s just wearing jeans and a plain shirt.
Everyman: Calm down, guys! We’re on the same team, remember?
Timber Man: Yeah… whatever.
Fishface: He started it!
Everyone is dumbfounded.
Blair: (No wonder they need our help if this is all they could get…)
The door opens behind the students. Fatal walks in with Sydney.
Ash: Ms. Fatal? You’re here too?
Fatal: Of course! Like I would allow my students to go on a dangerous mission without me!
Alexis: Huh, and you brought Sydney too.
Aaron: I kind of forgot about her.
Sydney grinds her teeth.
Sydney: You’re not the only U.A. students on the planet, you know!
Aaron: Are we not?
Wes: Aaron, let’s not pick fights right now…
A bell rings.
Wes: OH GOD!
Verity: I agree with Wes.
Verity is suddenly standing right behind Wes.
Wes: YOU DIDN’T EVEN GO THROUGH THE DOOR! HOW DID YOU GET HERE!
Verity: Magic.
Wes: *loud frustrated grunt*
Alexis: Verity? I didn’t know you had a work-study?
Verity: Big Tank asked for me a few days ago, I passed his test, and he brought me on.
Aaron: I’m sure you didn’t do as well as I did.
Walker: Unless the test was skeet shooting, I doubt that, Aaron.
Everyone turns to see Walker standing in the doorway.
2-A: Mr. Walker!
Fatal: You’re actually here?
Walker: I had an opening in my schedule, and I thought allowing my former students to go on a mission without me was irresponsible.
Fatal: Hey, I said something similar!
Silver: *under his breath* I’m glad all of 0 people in this room have confidence in us.
Kevin: Are you going to come to U.A. someday, Mr. Walker?
Walker: No comment.
Wes: Are you-
Walker: Look, kids, it’s good to see you, but we have a job. I’ll answer your questions after.
Everyone is quiet.
Hayze: (It’s good to see Mr. Walker is the same as ever.)
Suddenly a door on the opposite side of the mess hall swings open. Big Tank enters with five military guys.
Big Tank: Alright, everyone is here. It’s time to begin this meeting. *to Military Guy 1* Bring in the conference table.
The floor in the center of the room opens, and a conference table with 14 chairs rises.
Big Tank: All official heroes, please take a seat. Provisional heroes, you can stand on the sides.
The 14 official heroes take their seats.
Big Tank: First, I’d like to thank all of you for being here today. This mission will be dangerous and potentially fatal, so I appreciate everyone in this room for their bravery. As you can tell by the sheer abundance of provisional heroes involved, we severely lack manpower. I’d typically feel more confident about an operation of this magnitude, but we must make due under these conditions. Now, with that being said, the provisional heroes here are all top-notch and the best we could possibly ask for. So, let’s have faith in them and their abilities. We can’t change the personnel here, so let’s be happy with who we have.
Black Hollow: Well said.
Big Tank: We are dealing with a menace known as “The Vampire Queen.” Her exact abilities are relatively unknown, but we have knowledge of a few facts. First, she shares complete similarities to the storybook Vampires: she drinks blood and burns in the sun. Of course, this probably makes you think we just need to get her in sunlight, and she’ll be defeated, right? Well, that’s not an option.
A holographic projector at the center of the table blares up and begins projecting the schematic of a fallout shelter.
Impact: What’s this?
Fatal: It’s one of the shelters we used during the assault.
Impact: I know, but why is it important?
Big Tank: Because these underground facilities went unused for so many years, nobody noticed someone had built a house on top of one.
Impact: Wait… are you saying…
Big Tank: The Vampire Queen’s home is above this fallout shelter. Clearly, she spent a significant amount of time renovating it to allow for multiple entrances and exits.
Lust: That explains how she had her henchmen leave her home without anyone knowing.
Big Tank: Yes, and how she abducted so many men without evidence. This is the original schematic, so it’s outdated, but it tells us one crucial thing…
Vulcan: We will have to face her underground, which means sunlight is entirely off-limits.
Big Tank: Exactly. We have to enter her home and quickly find the entrance to the facility. She’ll more than likely be hiding out under there.
Timber Man: Great, so we’re fighting on her turf.
Black Hollow: We’ll have to be very vigilant.
Walker: It also means we’ll have to approach this mission with a frontal assault. There’s no point in dividing our group into teams. The only thing we can do is enter and move as a group in search of the Vampire.
Big Tank: Yes, which could be problematic.
Impact: How so?
Big Tank: If we can infer all this information so easily, she’ll be prepared.
Exciton: She’s probably designed the shelter to be a labyrinth, so intruders will quickly get lost or fall into traps.
Big Tank: Exactly, so we’ll need to be highly cautious once we’re inside. It could take quite a while for us to find her true lair.
Vulcan: So, what I’m getting out of all this is that making a plan is too difficult. All we can do is attack and hope nothing bad happens.
Big Tank: Unfortunately, yes. We have no reliable information about the internal aspects of her hideout, so all we can do is plan before we enter it; however, that part is practically childishly simple.
Exciton: Yeah, all we have to do is roll up and bust down the door.
Fatal: What should we do for communication in case we get separated inside?
Big Tank: There isn’t much. Radio signals won’t travel underground, and she undoubtedly has communication jammers set up.
Walker: This is quite the underground fortress we’re looking at.
Lust: We can hardly even strategize at this point.
Big Tank: I wish we had more information, but we only recently were tipped off that she possessed this bunker. If we had more time, I could try to gather more intel…
Exciton: But we don’t have any extra time…
Fishface: And why is that?
The holographic image changes to a syringe of blood.
Big Tank: During the Queen’s most recent attack at the Honor Ceremony, her associate revealed her dastardly plan. To recreate the Quirk Serum developed by Dr. Kelsey Moore.
Fatal: What?!
Big Tank: She, however, doesn’t want to give people just any quirk. She wants to provide them with her quirk. Her goal is to convert the entire world into vampires. This would bring the eventual extinction of the human race. But, you see, the Vampire Queen isn’t actually alive. She’s undead, so she’s incapable of reproducing, and so by giving her quirk to everyone…
Walker: She’d be sterilizing the whole planet...
Impact: Jesus…
Exciton: Do we know how close she is to perfecting and mass-producing this new serum?
Big Tank: No, for all we know, she’s already through that process. However, we highly doubt that’s the case. Although the assassin fired her bullet at Lust, she wasn’t the target of that attack. Instead, it was Adam Hayze, a recipient of Moore’s quirk serum.
All of the students look tense.
Big Tank: She wanted to lure Hayze into a situation where she could obtain his blood and use it to help create the serum.
Fatal: So that’s what that was about…
Walker: Hm…
Lust: So, there’s a good chance, given the recency of that attack, that she hasn’t finished the serum yet.
Big Tank: Yes, but if she’s left to her devices for much longer… that could change.
Impact: So we should start this operation yesterday.
Big Tank: Exactly. She’s forced our hand to go into this assault, understaffed and lacking critical information. Our plan is a frontal assault followed by improvisation once we’ve entered the underground. Among us are 31 heroes, 6 S-Rank, 2 A-Rank, 6 C-Rank, and 17 Provisional. We have quantity but not quality. Things are already grim, but they get worse, considering we haven’t gotten to the most bone-shivering detail.
The projected hologram changes to a picture of Hayze’s fight with Ivy.
Big Tank: All fighters under the Vampire Queen’s employ possess a power called “Soulvania.” It traps both the user and an opponent within the confines of black fog. Nobody can enter or exit the ring; it will only disappear if one of the two combatants dies.
Fishface: Uh… what?
Black Hollow: It’s essentially a way of forcing someone into a battle to the death.
Lust: Once that wall is up, nobody can help you but yourself. Either you die, or your opponent dies. Those are the only two options.
The six C-Rank heroes gulp.
Big Tank: For this reason, I highly recommend that everyone besides the S and A-Rank heroes avoid combat unless it is 100% necessary. The Vampire Queen is sure to possess many strong fighters, and it would be a potential death sentence if anyone else was caught inside a Soulvania besides the high-ranking heroes.
Timber Man: Heh, it’s alright! I’ll be ready to fight!
Vulcan: Don’t get cocky, Lumber Boy.
Timber Man: It’s Timber Man! Got that! And you’re going to be pissed when I rocket up the rankings after I beat the Vampire Queen!
Vulcan laughs loudly.
Big Tank: *sighs* We will begin the operation at 0900 hours in two days. Be sure to bring any equipment you’ll need just in case, and be prepared for anything. We must defeat the Vampire Queen at all costs. Failure is not an option.
Everyone: Right.
Everyone begins to stream out of the room and leave.
Kevin: Well, that wasn’t encouraging.
Saige: We’re going into this blind and outgunned, fun.
Wes: It could be worse.
Aaron: Yeah, Wes could be coming along.
Wes: I am…
Aaron: Oh, shit, it is worse.
Alexis: Let’s just be ready for whatever happens.
Justus: Yeah… this will be our most formidable challenge yet.
Lust walks over.
Lust: Come on, I’ll bring you all back to U.A.
Hayze’s bite mark starts to burn.
Hayze: *grunts*
Blair: Is something wrong?
Hayze: It’s nothing. I’m fine.
Scarlett is sitting on her throne with Large Man, Ivy, Terus, and a 4th person bowing before her.
Scarlett: They’ll be here at 9 in the morning, two days from now.
Terus: So soon? I like it.
Ivy: What’s our plan?
Scarlett directs her attention to the 4th member of her lieutenants. He’s an overly muscular man with a military hard hat on his head, and he’s… wearing a dress and makeup.
Scarlett: Major, prepare your traps and advanced security measures. I want creativity and brutality.
Major Minor: Understood, Queen! The king of traps will not disappoint you!
Scarlett: *sighs* I’m sure he won’t. Large Man, you’ll lead the welcoming party on the surface. Impact and his teleportation quirk could be annoying, so keep him on the surface.
Large Man: Yes, my Queen.
Scarlett: Terus, inform the troops of the impending attack and prepare their assignments. If all goes well, their intended targets will fall right into their laps, including you.
Terus: I’ll take great pleasure in it, ma’am.
Scarlett: Ivy, go collect me a morsel of handsome men to feast upon; I must increase my power for this final battle.
Ivy: Yes, my Queen.
Scarlett: If we can kill all six members of the Top 10 AND 17 U.A. students, we’ll bring the hero world to its knees. Nothing will stop me from fulfilling my dream, and I can thank all of you for that.
Large Man, Terus, Major Minor, and Ivy: Yes, my Queen.
Scarlett: Now go and fulfill your assignments.
All four leave, with Large Man and Major Minor separate from Ivy and Terus.
Terus: I love when the Queen talks like that. She’s so inspiring.
Ivy: Indeed she is.
Terus: You don’t seem impressed.
Ivy: I’ve done the whole devoting myself to a Master thing before; it’s hard to get enthusiastic about the Queen’s speeches.
Terus shoves Ivy against a wall.
Terus: Are you saying you’re not loyal to the Queen?
Ivy: Of course I am, but I’m not as invested in her goal as you are. I’ll follow her orders until I die.
Terus: I’ve got your word?
Ivy: Yes.
Terus hesitates and then releases Ivy.
Ivy: You’re pretty defensive of her. It reminds me of how I was with my former master.
Terus: Look, creepy girl, I don’t care that you were a part of that goon, Iota’s group before. The only thing that matters to me is my Queen.
Ivy: Can I ask why?
Terus: I was abandoned by my mom at 6. She was done being a single parent. She got knocked up by my dad when she was 19 and never saw him again. She wanted to get child support payments but was afraid of what would happen if she did.
Ivy: Wait, what? Why?
Terus: Let’s just say he was a very powerful man.
Ivy: (Was?)
Terus: I had to live on the streets and in foster homes until I was 14. That’s how I got this scar. I had to fight for everything, and then the Queen found me. She gave me a roof over my head and my first home-cooked meal in years. Then she told me about her past and her vision for the world. I couldn’t believe that someone that was treated the way she was could be so nice to a stranger like me. I wanted to be like her, strong and kind, so I was cool with her vampire ideology. She gave me everything I have today, and I owe her my life for that. Of course, with that being said, I’m still pissed at my dad for putting me in the shitty spot I was in the world. I have two goals in life, to help my Queen achieve her dream and to get revenge.
Ivy: Pretty simple.
Terus: Yeah, and I can fulfill both goals simultaneously with this incoming attack.
Ivy: Your dad is coming?
Terus: No, but the next best thing is… my big brother.
The students of 2-A gather in their common area.
Eve: So, you guys have a really dangerous mission, huh?
Alexis: Yeah, and that’s all we can really tell you.
Blair: We’d tell you more if you could.
Karma: It’s okay, we understand.
Angel: Yeah, we all understand how this job works. We don’t hold it against you guys.
Gus: Are you telling us this because you’re afraid some of you won’t make it back?
Everyone gets quiet.
Eve: Gus…
Gus: What? It’s a fair question.
Silver: We’ll all make it back.
Everyone: Huh?
Justus: We all hope to, Silver, but being realistic is okay.
Silver: I understand, Justus, but we’ve been through a hell of a lot, and we’re still standing. So, I expect that all of you will keep that trend going. We’re the best class this school has ever seen, and this is our chance to show the hero world we mean business.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Kevin: Hell yeah!
Silver: So let’s not talk about if we’re going to die and start thinking about how we’ll ace this mission. There’s no point in getting sad over hypotheticals.
Aaron: Silver’s right. We’re going to be okay!
Wes: I hope.
Aaron punches Wes.
Wes: AHHH!
Aaron: What did we just finish saying?!
Wes: FUCK YOU!
Hayze is standing off by himself, holding his hand over his bite.
Blair: Are you sure everything is okay?
Hayze: I’m fine. This bite is just burning a little.
Blair: Is it infected?
Hayze: I don’t think so. Recovery Girl would have taken care of that.
Blair: Oh, right…
Awkward silence.
Hayze: Is everything okay with you?
Blair: Just a little worried…
Hayze: Don’t be; everyone will be okay.
Blair: Well… I am worried about them too, but I was more referring to you.
Hayze: Do you not trust me to handle myself anymore?
Blair: No, it’s just… please don’t… you know, again. I really don’t want to have to go through that.
Hayze: It’s okay. Nothing is gonna happen to me. I’ve made sure of it.
Blair: What do you mean by that?
Hayze: Don’t worry about it. Just focus on the mission. You’d better be ready.
Blair: I’m as ready as I can be.
Hayze: That’s good because those vampires will be pretty scared when they have to fight you.
Blair laughs.
Blair: Thanks.
Hayze places his hand on Blair’s shoulder.
Hayze: Everything will be fine, don’t worry.
Blair: Okay.
The night before Operation V-Day, as Hayze is sleeping, his bite mark burns. He wakes up in the empty whitespace from his old nightmares.
Hayze: Wh- what’s going on?
Impulse: You tell us.
Impulse, Wrath, Calm, and Gale are all there as well.
Hayze: Wait, if we’re all here, then that means Khaos is-
Wrath: Nowhere, dumbass. Your body is sleeping right now.
Hayze: But that doesn’t make any sense… I haven’t had a nightmare like this since I got the ring fragment…
Calm: Because none of us were vying for control.
Hayze: But- you still aren’t, so who-
Suddenly a voice begins echoing through the whitespace.
Scarlett: Hayze…
Gale: Well, that’s not creepy at all.
Impulse: That voice…
Hayze: It’s the Vampire Queen.
Calm: Hayze! Look at your hand.
Hayze looks at his right hand; it’s coated in the same black fog Soulvania is made of.
Hayze: Wh- what is this!
Scarlett: My power, Hayze…
Hayze: Wh- huh?
Scarlett: Anyone who survives one of my bites always has a piece of me inside them.
Wrath: Gross.
Gale: Nice.
Scarlett: The power of Soulvania is yours, Hayze…
Hayze: That evil? I don’t want it.
Scarlett: Oh, you do, Hayze. You just don’t know it yet.
Hayze: What the hell do you mean by that!
Scarlett: Soulvania allows you to trap your enemies within its confines, but I think you’ll appreciate the other aspect of its power.
Hayze: And what’s that?
Scarlett: Keeping people out.
Suddenly, the black fog forms into a soulvania around Hayze, repelling Wrath, Calm, Impulse, and Gale.
Wrath: What the hell!
Impulse: Well, this isn’t fun!
The four personalities fade away, leaving Hayze at the center of the soulvania.
Hayze: I’ll never use this power!
Scarlett: You say that, but…
Hayze wakes up, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
Hayze: Jesus…
Hayze places his hand against his bite mark.
Hayze: Was that really a dream?
The next day, the students gather in costumes at the dorm’s front, loading gear into the vans. Gus, Demetri, Eve, Angel, Karma, Alden, and Adrian are standing at the front too.
Demetri: Good luck, guys.
Kevin: We’ll see you later!
Eve: Try not to get yourselves killed.
Aaron: No promises!
Karma: We’ll keep trying to help Jace, Lilith, and Isaiah while you’re gone!
Saige: You do that, guys, and try not to get caught up in that yourselves.
Alden: Don’t worry. If they try anything, my hologram discs and I will clean their clocks.
Saige: I wasn’t talking to you.
Alden: Aw…
Gus and Angel walk up to Zach.
Angel: Good luck, Zach. Try to stay safe.
Zach: Don’t worry, nothings gonna happen to me!
Gus: That’s good, but just in case.
Zach: Huh?
Gus hands Zach the two canisters.
Gus: These contain some of my strongest gas attacks. G1 gas.
Zach: G1? I’ve heard you talk about this.
Gus: That’s because it’s beyond deadly. I typically only use G3 standard smoke, and G2 is tear gas, but G1 is poisonous smog that could kill a man if he inhales too much of the stuff. So I want you to have them, Zach.
Zach: R- really?
Gus: Yeah, you guys said it could be a deadly mission… so, it would feel wrong for me to hold on to something that powerful.
Zach: But why are you giving them to me? Wouldn’t Aaron or Hayze be better choices?
Gus: Well, they’re cool, but you’re my friend, Zach, and I’d be really sad if you didn’t come back from this mission.
Zach: R- really?
Angel: Same goes for me. We’re like a team, after all, and that includes Jace. You know, when he’s not a psychopath.
Zach smiles.
Zach: Thanks, guys!
Adrian walks up to Hayze.
Adrian: Hayze.
Hayze: Huh?
Adrian offers Hayze a handshake.
Adrian: Good luck.
Hayze shakes his hand.
Hayze: Thank you.
Adrian: I wish I could be there, but someone needs to hold down the fort here.
Hayze: Yeah, good luck with the “Vanguard” issue.
Adrian: I’m working on it. Try not to get yourself killed again, okay? I’m gonna need your help when you get back.
Hayze: Will do.
Everyone loads into the vans and begins driving off.
Karma: Goodbye, everyone.
Gus: Good luck!
Ash: Goodbye, everyone!
Alexis: We’ll see you soon!
They wave goodbye as Jace, Lilith, and Isaiah watch from inside.
Jace: All the roadblocks are gone.
Isaiah: What a treat for us.
Lilith: Now the Vanguard can really begin its recruitment…
Vanguard watches from the rooftop of U.A. with a smile on his face.
Vanguard: It’s all coming together…
The vans arrive at an alleyway about a block from Scarlett’s house. All 31 heroes are gathered together.
Big Tank: Official heroes sound off. #10, Big Tank.
Vulcan: #1 Hero, Vulcan.
Exciton: #2, Exciton.
Black Hollow: 3, Black Hollow.
Impact: #4, Impact.
Lust: #5, Lust.
Walker: A-Rank, Phantom Walker.
Fatal: A-Rank, Femme Fatal.
Timber Man: C-Rank, Timber Man.
Fishface: C-Rank, Fishface.
Doorman: C-Rank, Doorman.
Everyman: C-Rank, Everyman.
Silver Dollar: C-Rank, Silver Dollar.
Paperboy: C-Rank, Paperboy.
Big Tank: Good, we’re all here. Let’s begin this mission.
Kevin: So what are we going to knock on the door or?
Big Tank fires a shot from his cannon at Scarlett’s house, completely destroying it.
Aaron: Awesome!
Wes: Are the neighbors just gonna ignore that?
Big Tank: Everyone, move in!
The heroes charge toward the remains of Scarlett’s home.
Wes: This feels incredibly unsafe!
Aaron: Shut up, Wes!
Wes: You know, I hope that’s not the last time I hear you say that!
Aaron: Shut up, Wes!
Wes: Thanks, Aaron.
Timber Man runs ahead of everyone.
Walker: Timber Man! Fall back!
Timber Man: No way! I’m going to the first one inside that underground facility, and ain’t nobody gonna stop me!
Suddenly, Large Man leaps out from the debris.
Timber Man: Huh?
Large Man: I was expecting a knock on the door, but this works too.
Large Man rips off his shirt, revealing his massive and scarily toned muscles.
Timber Man: Oh, you think you’re big, huh! Woodchuck Chuck!
Timber Man fires a wave of wood chips at Large Man; they don’t even leave a scratch.
Large Man: That’s cute.
Timber Man: Oh god…
Big Tank: Timber Man! Retreat!
Timber Man: You don’t have to tell me twice!
Timber Man tries running away, but Large Man grabs him by the ankle and hoists him in the air.
Timber Man: Put me down!
Large Man: Okay!
Large Man throws Timber Man through the air.
Walker: Timber Man!
Timber Man: It’s okay, guys! My only weakness is wood chippers!
Timber Man falls feet first into a nearby wood chipper.
Timber Man: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?!
Timber Man is sucked through the wood chipper, grinding him to bits.
Big Tank: Timberman! NOOO!
Impact: I’ll teleport and take him down!
Wes: THAT’S NOT- AH FUCK IT! FORGET IT!
Impact bursts towards Large Man at an incredibly high speed, moving so fast he creates a sonic boom. He’s moving so fast that nobody can actually see him.
Impact: Teleport Attack!
Large Man smiles. The skin on his hands and forearms turns purple.
Walker: Impact! Wait!
Large Man blocks with his arms as Impact kicks him.
Impact: Huh?
Suddenly, the skin on Impact’s leg begins to turn purple.
Impact: What the hell!
Impact leaps back and lands on the ground, but his purple leg gives out.
Impact: What’s going on?
Everyone catches up to Impact.
Large Man: This is my quirk: Toxic Skin. Making contact with any part of my body coated in this poisonous substance will infect you. Draining your energy and slowly killing you.
Impact: *grunts*
Wes: Wait, so those muscles aren’t his quirk?!
Tyson: Damn...
Walker steps forward.
Walker: I’ll take him on.
Impact: No, I was the one foolish enough to let my emotions get the better of me. This is my fight.
Walker: Impact, you’re infected.
Impact: Yeah, and I’m not letting anyone else end up like this. I’ll kill him and free myself from his quirk. You guys head inside the facility!
Big Tank: Impact, are you sure?
Impact: Yes! Now go!
Big Tank: Right.
Large Man: What makes you think I’ll just let you all pass?
Impact: This! Yul!
Yul: On it, sir!
Yul pulls out a bottle of bubbles and a HE grenade.
Large Man: Huh?
Yul: Fusion!
Yul fuses the objects into a bubble grenade and throws it at Large Man, trapping him inside a massive bubble.
Large Man: What the hell is this!
Impact: Everyone go!
Everyone except Yul and Impact begins running toward the debris of Scarlett’s house.
Big Tank: Start digging through the rubble until you find the entrance, then signal to everyone!
Everyone begins digging.
Large Man: You annoying pest!
Impact: Yul, stay back, and whatever you do, don’t let him trap you inside a Soulvania!
Yul: Yessir!
Yul runs off. Large Man punches against the bubble wall, trying to escape.
Large Man: What the hell is this?
Impact: A bubble. What are you, stupid?
Large Man: I know what a bubble is, asshole! How the hell is it this tough!
Impact: All a part of Yul’s awesome quirk!
Aaron lifts a piece of debris, revealing the elevator shaft to Scarlett’s underground facility.
Aaron: Found it!
Everyone crowds around the entrance.
Exciton: No ladder?
Vulcan: They must have taken it out.
Aaron: I’ve got this!
Aaron transforms his arms into grappling hooks and leaps down the shaft. Then, he flips around midair and clips onto the top of the shaft.
Big Tank: Good thinking, Howitzer!
Aaron: Thanks!
Big Tank: Fatal. You go down first to protect Howitzer if anyone is waiting at the bottom.
Fatal: Right.
Lust: I’ll go too!
Fatal and Lust grab Aaron’s grapple lines and begin scaling down the elevator shaft.
Big Tank: Alright, two at a time, let’s go!
Large Man watches with anger.
Large Man: Damn you!
The infection is slowly rising up Impact’s leg.
Impact: (I’ll have to take him out quickly once this bubble pops, if I go down, he’ll be sure to take Yul out too.)
Slowly but surely, everyone scales the shaft. Finally, just Vulcan, Exciton, Big Tank, Aster, Verity, Zach, and Wes are left.
Wes: I’ll go next.
Verity: Me too.
Wes: Dammit…
Wes and Verity go down.
Big Tank: You and me next, Exciton.
Exciton: Lovely!
Big Tank: Shut up.
Exciton and Big Tank descend.
Large Man: You won’t all escape!
Large Man leaps while inside the bubble sending him flying through the air. He aims and lands on Scarlett’s destroyed bathtub. The shattered porcelain is sharp enough to pop the bubble.
Vulcan: You two! Go now!
Zach and Aster climb down the ropes as Large Man leaps towards Vulcan.
Vulcan: Bring it on!
Impact: Vulcan! No!
Impact uses his super-speed to collide with Large Man.
Impact: Just go! You can’t afford to be infected by this guy’s poison!
Vulcan: *frustrated grunt* Fine, good luck, Impact.
Vulcan begins climbing down the elevator shaft.
Impact: It’s just you and me, big guy! They’re all safe, and they’re going to take your boss down!
Large Man: Who said they were safe?
Impact: What!
Large Man raises his hand, and black fog emits from it.
Impact: Huh? How!
Large Man: When did we ever indicate that Soulvania only works on a horizontal plane?
Impact: No!
Large Man: I think I’ll choose the one in your agency. You seem to have taken a liking to him!
The fog surrounds Large Man and Impact, creating a large circle. As the fog goes over the elevator shaft, it descends downward, past Aster, Vulcan, and Zach.
Aster: What the hell was that?
Zach: I don’t know, but I don’t like it.
Suddenly, Impact gets sent flying back outside of the circle.
Impact: AH!
Vulcan, Zach, and Aster are all sent careening down the elevator shaft alongside Aaron’s grappling hooks. Finally, however, Zach smacks against a black fog wall across the shaft while Aster and Vulcan pass through it.
Zach: Woah! What the heck!
The circle of fog rises into walls, forming a cylinder that envelops Large Man and Zach.
Large Man: Now then, I have my prey.
Yul runs over and helps Impact up.
Yul: What the hell happened?
Impact: He got Zach inside that field…
Yul: What!
Impact: Yeah, they’re now in a battle to the death.
Large Man looks down the elevator shaft at Zach.
Large Man: Welcome to the final day of your life.
Zach: Huh? No way… don’t tell me that this fog is…
Large Man: Yes, you’re trapped in my Soulvania! Which means one of us will die! But I’ll give you a hint as to who it will be…
Zach: *grunts*
Zach extends his bone claws.
Zach: Bring it!
Large Man: I’ll be a good sport and allow you to climb up here and face me on a level playing field.
Large Man takes a seat on some debris. Zach begins using his bone claws to climb the elevator shaft.
Yul: What’s he doing? Why would he allow Zach to escape? He could kill him easily in there.
Impact: Simple, because the longer this battle goes on, the more this infection will spread on my body.
Yul: Right…
Impact: Not to mention that the only known way in or out of this, their hideout, is now completely blocked for the duration of this fight… meaning none of the others can get out if they need help.
Yul: So, this worked out perfectly for him…
Impact: Yeah… and Yul…
Yul: Huh?
Impact: If this fight goes perfectly for him, too, you’re the next man up, so be ready.
Yul gulps.
Yul: Yessir.
Zach reaches the top of the elevator shaft.
Large Man: Welcome back.
Zach: So it’s you and me, huh?
Impact: Zach! Be careful! You have to avoid his poison at all costs!
Zach: That’ll be tricky, given I’m a strength quirk user.
Large Man: More like impossible; You’re facing the number one lieutenant of the Vampire Queen. I hope you notarized your will before coming here.
Zach gulps.
Zach: (Alright, Zach… it’s time to step up for your toughest battle ever. Either you win… or you die. I’ve gotta put every ounce of effort in my body into making sure it’s the former.)
Vulcan and Aster slam into the ground at the bottom of the elevator shaft.
Vulcan and Aster: *groan*
Lust: Are you two alright?
Vulcan: I’m fine.
Aster: Yeah, I’m okay…
Ash: Where’s Zach?
Aster: Uh?
They look up the shaft.
Aster: Don’t tell me…
Vulcan: He’s fine; he stayed to help Impact fight that behemoth. Now, what’s the situation down here?
Walker: Three hallways are going off in each direction for an indefinite distance.
Black Hollow: It’s impossible to know which is the correct one.
Big Tank: Then we’ll have to split up.
Exciton: I thought that was something we were refraining against?
Big Tank: Not if we want to find the Queen this century. One wrong path choice and we’re going to have problems.
Fatal: Then how should we divide up?
Scarlett watches the group on a computer monitor from a control room with Wirths.
Scarlett: So they want to split up, huh?
Wirths: Then let’s help them along.
Wirths presses a button.
Vulcan: I’ll take-
Suddenly a bunch of blast doors begin lowering through the hallways.
Walker: She’s trying to trap us.
Everyman: If we get caught in here, we’ll be sitting ducks!
Exciton: Everyone pick a direction and run!
Everyone scatters off down the three hallways as the blast doors shut behind them.
[https://i.ibb.co/1L2CtRz/a68dd4b636f79a85e60f7cb520164334.png]Wes: Well… that went about as well as could be expected.
Everyman: Yeah, I’m just glad everyone made it out okay.
Suddenly a blast door shuts on Everyman, crushing him to death.
Wes: *sighs* I’m going to die here, aren’t I?
Exciton looks down his group’s hallway.
Exciton: Alright, stick together and stay behind me, got it?
Aster: Understood, sir.
Paperboy: Should we see about reconnecting with the others?
Exciton: No, we need to press onwards at all costs.
Lust: Exciton is right. We need to find the Vampire Queen.
Vulcan begins walking down his group’s hallway.
Vulcan: Follow me and try to keep up.
Scarlett watches Big Tank’s group walk down their hall.
Scarlett: I think it’s time for us to send them their first challenger.
Wirths: Who should it be?
Scarlett points at Wes and Aaron.
Scarlett: Let’s try them.
Walker walks up to a door.
Walker: It looks like it’s completely empty.
Fatal: So, she made this place so massive they couldn’t even use all of the rooms.
Big Tank: It’s okay; we must stick together and methodically search the premise for her.
Aaron: You hear that, Wes? We have to stick together, so don’t go running off.
Wes: Fuck you, Aaron, like I’m going anywhere.
Suddenly, the floor beneath Aaron, Wes, and Verity opens up. They begin plummeting down a shaft.
Wes: OH, COME ON!
Aaron: Oh boy!
Verity: This will be bad.
Alexis: Aaron!
The floor quickly closes.
Alexis: Saige! Make a drill or something we need to help them!
Fatal: I’ve got this!
Suddenly blast doors begin lowering again.
Big Tank: Shit! We have to go!
Alexis: But what about Aaron and Wes?
Walker: They’ll be okay, but we can’t allow ourselves to be trapped.
They start running away.
Alexis: (Aaron… please be careful…)
Aaron, Wes, and Verity crash into a large, dark, open room.
Wes: *groans*
Aaron: Are you two alright?
Wes: I’m fine.
Verity: Me too.
Voice: Really? Because you won’t be for long.
Wes’s eyes widen.
Wes: That voice…
Suddenly, a Soulvania begins forming around them.
Aaron: Oh, shit!
Wes: Of course...
Voice: First, let’s remove the girl. I don’t have any beef with her.
Verity gets thrown out of the Soulvania as the walls rise.
Wes: Verity!
Aaron: Are you implying you have “beef” with Wes and me?
Out of the shadows emerges a man.
Ricky: Should I not?
Wes: It’s you…
Ricky: Yeah! And it’s time for some revenge!
Ricky laughs maniacally.
Ricky: And guess what? Only one of the three of us is walking away from this fight! And it’s gonna be me!
Wes: Shit…
Aaron: Bring it, bitch.